ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

MOVIES & TV

More Monica: Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky has agreed to help make an HBO documentary about the investigation into her affair with Bill Clinton and its impact on the nation. The documentary, to be produced by the team that made HBO’s documentary on the O.J. Simpson civil trial, is expected to be seen next January. Lewinsky told the New York Times that the passage of time has given her a new perspective on the proceedings.

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Producers’ Picks: “Gladiator” moved another step forward in its battle to take home the best picture Oscar, when it won the Producers Guild of America’s Golden Laurel Award for motion pictures over the weekend. NBC’s “The West Wing” picked up the TV drama series award, while HBO’s “Sex and the City” was cited as the best-produced comedy series. Showtime’s “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman” won the long-form television award.

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Box-Office Freebie: Moviegoers at chains including Loews Cineplex, General Cinemas, Edwards and Pacific Theatres will soon be going home with more than just their film memories. Starting March 20, the theaters will distribute free copies of “Hollywood Previews,” described as “the world’s first interactive CD-ROM entertainment magazine.” The CD-ROMs will be more than 90 minutes in length and will include star interviews, movie trailers, behind-the-scenes footage, soundtracks, news, trivia and contests.

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Cable Notes: Director-actor Rob Reiner will host “The Essentials,” a Sunday 3 p.m. series on Turner Classic Movies in which he will provide commentary about classic films “widely considered an integral part of our culture.” The series premieres April 1, with a look at Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane.” . . . VH1 will premiere “Name That Video,” an updated version of “Name That Tune,” on March 12. The game show will be shown weeknights at 7:30 and 11. . . . Style maven Katie Brown will host two new series for Home and Garden Television next season, the daytime show “Home Workshop With Katie Brown” and a weekly prime-time series tentatively titled “The Look.”

ART

National Gallery Gets Serra: When the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden opened nearly two years ago, it contained no works by Richard Serra, one of the major American sculptors of the past 30 years. But the Washington museum has closed that gap in its collection by acquiring the important 1971 work “Five Plates, Two Poles,” directly from the New York-based artist for an undisclosed price. The 15-ton steel piece is being installed this week in the East Building since it can’t be housed in the outdoor garden because it would rust. “A sculpture by Serra has long been a high priority,” said gallery director Earl “Rusty” Powell III. “But we haven’t stopped thinking about a Serra piece for the garden, too.”

THEATER

Critics’ Choices: The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle has announced six special awards to be presented at the group’s annual ceremony on April 2. Jillian Armenante and Alice Dodd will receive the Ted Schmitt Award (best premiere script) for “In Flagrante Delicto.” The Margaret Harford Award (sustained excellence) goes to International City Theatre. Deaf West Theatre will pick up the Polly Warfield Award (outstanding season in a small or mid-size theater). Lifetime achievement in design awards will go to D Martyn Bookwalter (the Angstrom Award for lighting) and John Iacovelli (the Bob Z Award for sets), while Carolyn Hennesy will receive the Natalie Schafer Award for an emerging comic actress.

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Unexpected Windfall: At the end of each performance of “Late Nite Catechism,” Maripat Donovan--”Sister” in the solo show at the Coronet Theatre--collects donations for a local teaching order of retired nuns. The usual take is between $100 and $200. At Sunday’s performance, however, one man dropped a bulky wad of bills into the bucket. When the money was counted, Donovan learned that the anonymous donor had contributed 61 $100 bills.

QUICK TAKES

Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez apparently wants to add the title of fashion designer to her resume. She’s signed a deal with Andy Hilfiger, designer Tommy Hilfiger’s younger brother, to create her own clothing line, the New York Post reported Sunday. Lopez’s ex-beau, rap impresario Sean “Puffy” Combs, has his own menswear line called Sean John. . . . Score another victory for Oprah Winfrey, as her latest “Oprah Winfrey Presents” ABC movie, “Amy & Isabelle,” won the ratings battle Sunday with an estimated 19.4 million viewers, versus 10.8 million for NBC’s “Women of Camelot” and 13 million viewing the premiere of Fox’s “The X-Files” spinoff “The Lone Gunmen.” . . . A double CD of songs written and performed by the late rapper Tupac Shakur in the year before his death will be released March 27 on Amaru/Death Row/Interscope Records. 2Pac’s “Until the End of Time” will feature more than 20 never-before-released tracks. The rapper was fatally shot in Las Vegas in September 1996. . . . Judge Marilyn Milian will preside over “The People’s Court” in syndicated episodes beginning March 12. Milian, who replaces retiring Judge Jerry Sheindlin, is TV’s first judge of Latino heritage (her parents were both born in Cuba). . . . The TV game show “Jeopardy!” will add a new feature in the fall, when four roving correspondents known as the “Clue Crew” will travel to landmarks, historical sites and other locations worldwide to tape video clues for the show’s questions. Producers are currently accepting applications; details are posted at https://www.jeopardy.com. . . . “The PJs,” the WB’s animated series about a housing project, will not return next season, sources said. The cost to produce the low-rated comedy, which was co-created by comedian Eddie Murphy, is prohibitive, insiders said. . . . A power outage forced the cancellation of bluesman B.B. King’s show Sunday at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. The concert has been rescheduled for April 2.